North America Distribution

Facts About

Australian stork's-bill is grown as a garden ornamental in North America, very occasionally escaping cultivation. It has been collected in California, and in New England has been collected only from the waste site of a nineteenth-century wool-carding factory in Massachusetts.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats)

Characteristics

Habitat

terrestrial

Flower petal color

blue to purple

pink to red

Leaf type

the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)

Leaf arrangement

opposite: there are two leaves per node along the stem

Leaf blade edges

the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and lobes

Flower symmetry

there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)

the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)

Petal folds or pleats

the petals of the flower do not have folds or plaits

Petal glandular dots or scales

no

Petal hairs (Viola)

NA

Petal length relative to sepals

the petals are longer than the sepals

Petal number

4–5

Petal tips (Cuscuta)

NA

Raceme attachment (Veronica)

NA

Reproductive system

all the flowers have both carpels and stamens (synoecious)

Scales inside corolla

no

Sepal and petal color

the sepals are different from the petals

Sepal appearance

the sepals are green or brown, and leaf-like in texture

Sepal appendages

the sepals do not have appendages on them

Sepal appendages (Oenothera)

NA

Sepal color

green to brown

Sepal length

8–15 mm

Sepal number

4–5

Sepal orientation

the sepals are slightly curved outwards from the corolla

Sepals fused only to sepals

the sepals are separate from one another

Stamen attachment

the stamens are not attached to the petals or tepals

Stamen morphology

the stamens within a cycle differ in length or width

Stamen number

10

Stamen position relative to petals

the stamens are lined up with the sepals

Stamens fused

the stamens are not attached to one another

Staminodes

the flower has staminodes

Style length

50–60 mm

Style petal-like

the styles are not petal-like

Umbel flower reproductive parts

NA

Upper lip of bilabiate corolla

NA

Fruits or seeds

Achene relative orientation

NA

Achene shape

NA

Achene surface (Polygonum)

NA

Achene type

NA

Berry color

NA

Capsule color (Viola)

NA

Capsule ribs

NA

Capsule splitting

NA

Carpel beak length

25–113 mm

Fruit (pyxis) dehiscence

NA

Fruit beak length

25–113 mm

Fruit cross-section

the fruit is round in cross-section

Fruit features (Brassicaceae)

NA

Fruit length

5–6 mm

Fruit length relative to sepals

the fruit is about the same length as its associated sepals

the fruit is shorter than its associated sepals

Fruit locules

five

Fruit shape

NA

Fruit type (general)

the fruit is dry but does not split open when ripe

Fruit type (specific)

the fruit is a schizocarp (when dry it splits into sections, each holding one or more seeds)

Hairs on fruit

the fruits are not hairy

the fruits have hairs on them

Legumes (Fabaceae)

NA

Mericarp length

7.5–11 mm

Mericarp segment shape (Desmodium)

NA

Other markings on berry

NA

Ovary stipe

the ovary or fruit does not have a stipe

Placenta arrangement

the plant has axile placentation, in which the ovules are attached where the septa of a compound ovary are united, usually on the central axis, or to the septa themselves

Rows of seeds in fruit (Brassicaceae)

NA

Schizocarpic fruit compression

the fruit is not flattened

Schizocarpic fruit segments

5

Seed surface

the seed is smooth or without clear markings

Septum in fruit (Brassicaceae)

NA

Wings on fruit

the fruit does not have wings on it

prickles on fruits

the fruits do not have thorn-like defensive structures

Glands or sap

Glands on leaf blade

the leaf blades do not have glandular dots or scales

Sap

the sap is clear and watery

Sap color

the sap is clear

Growth form

Growth form

the plant is an herb (it has self-supporting stems)

Lifespan

the plant lives only a single year or less

Parasitism

the plant is not parasitic

Plant color

the leaves or young stems of the plant are green

Plants darken when dry

no

Spines on plant

the plant has no spines

Leaves

Bracteole number (Apiaceae)

0

Bracts in plantain (Plantago)

NA

Final leaf segment length to width ratio (compound lvs only)

0

Final leaf segment width (compound lvs only)

0 mm

Leaf arrangement

opposite: there are two leaves per node along the stem

Leaf blade edges

the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and lobes

Leaf blade length

40–80 mm

Leaf blade shape

the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)

Leaf blade surface colors

the upper side of the leaf blade is relatively uniform in color

Leaf blade texture

the leaf blade is herbaceous (has a leafy texture)

Leaf blade width

Up to 9.9 mm

Leaf duration

the leaves drop off in winter (or they whither but persist on the plant)

Leaf form

the leaves are green, with an expanded blade and a leaf-like texture

Leaf spines

there are no spines on the leaf edges

Leaf stalk

the leaves have leaf stalks

Leaf stalk attachment to leaf

the petiole attaches at the basal margin of the leaf blade

Leaf stalk base

the petiole base is narrow where it attaches to the stem

Leaf stalk length

41–81 mm

Leaf teeth and lobes

the leaf has a row of two or more lobes on each side of the central axis

Leaf type

the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)

Leaf types

There is a gradual change in appearance of the leaves from the base (or near the base) of the plant to those from further up on the stem, with leaves progressively changing as one moves higher on the stem (often becoming shorter, or less toothed/lobed, and/or with shorter petioles).

Leaf variation

the leaves are nearly similar in size, prominence of teeth, and length of stalks throughout the stem

Leaves per node

there are two leaves per node along the stem

Pinnately compound leaf type

NA

Specific leaf type

the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)

Stipule features

NA

Stipules

the plant has stipules

Place

Habitat

terrestrial

Specific habitat

man-made or disturbed habitats

Stem, shoot, branch

Branched tendrils

NA

Flowering stem cross-section

the flowering stem has strong or sharp angles, but is not square

the flowering stem is circular, or with lots of small angles so that it is roughly circular

Hair between stem nodes

the stem has hairs between the nodes

Hairs between stem nodes

at least some of the hairs on the stem have glands

Hooked hairs on stem between nodes

no

Leaves on stem

there is at least one full leaf above the base of the flowering stem

Plant height

10–30 cm

Stem orientation

the stems are upright or angled outwards

the stems trail at the base, but may turn upwards at the tips

Tendril origin

NA

Tendrils

the plant does not have tendrils

Wetland Status

Not classified

New England Distribution and Conservation Status

Distribution

Connecticut

absent

Maine

absent

Massachusetts

present

New Hampshire

absent

Rhode Island

absent

Vermont

absent

Conservation Status

Exact status definitions can vary from state to
state. For details, please check with your state.

Massachusetts

not applicable
(S-rank: SNA)

Native to North America?

No

Sometimes Confused With

base of stem, as well as upper portion of stem, pubescent with glandular hairs, and leaf blades oblong to ovate in outline, with usually 5 or more principal lobes (vs. E. cygnorum, with base of stem pubescent with eglandular hairs or sometimes glabrate, the upper portion of stem glandular-pubescent, and leaf blades ovate in outline, with usually 3 principal lobes).